Optical waveguides are used for transporting a variety of signals such as voice, video, data transmission, and the like. Optical waveguides are relatively fragile and can experience relatively high increases in optical attenuation when subjected to tensile, bending, or torsional stresses and/or strains. Consequently, optical waveguides may include a buffer layer therearound for protecting the optical waveguide.
FIG. 1 depicts a conventional buffered optical waveguide 7. Conventional buffered optical waveguide 7 includes an optical waveguide 1, an interfacial layer 3, and a buffer layer 5. Optical waveguide 1 generally includes a core 1a, a cladding 1b, and a coating 1c. Core 1a has an index of refraction that is greater than that of cladding 1b, thereby promoting internal reflection for transmitting optical signals along the waveguide. At the time of manufacture, cladding 1b is typically coated with one or more coatings 1c such as a UV-curable acrylate polymer, thereby protecting cladding 1b from being damaged. Typical diameters for the optical waveguide are about 10 microns for a single mode core or 50–62.5 microns for a multimode core, 125 microns for the cladding, and 250 microns for the coating, but other dimensions can be manufactured.
As shown, buffer layer 5 generally surrounds optical waveguide 1 and protects optical waveguide 1 from stresses and/or strains. Buffer layer 5 typically has an outer diameter of about 900 microns, but other suitable dimensions such as 500 microns are possible. Buffer layer 5 is generally extruded over optical fiber 1 in a relatively hot liquid form and quenched in a water trough to form a buffered optical waveguide. However, before an optical connection to the optical fiber can be made buffer layer 5 must be stripped from optical waveguide 1. End users have generic requirements for the stripability of buffer layer 5 from optical fiber 1 so that optical connections can easily be performed. For example, the GR-409 standard requires a minimum, and a maximum, force to strip a predetermined length such as 15 mm of buffer layer 5 from optical waveguide 1. To meet these requirements, some buffered optical fibers use an interfacial layer 3 that acts as a lubricant between the coating 1c of optical waveguide 1 and buffer layer 5, thereby aiding stripability. However, providing lubricant increases manufacturing complexity and increases manufacturing costs. Moreover, there are applications that require stripping long lengths such as 50 cm or more of buffer layer 5 from optical waveguide 1. In order to avoid damage to optical waveguide 1, stripping long lengths of buffer layer 5 is typically accomplished by stripping several shorter lengths of buffer layer 5 until the desired length of buffer layer 5 is stripped from optical waveguide 1. Stripping several shorter lengths is a laborious and time-consuming process. Thus, there is a need for an easy to manufacture, low-cost buffered optical waveguide that allows stripping of relatively long lengths of the buffer layer.